Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (76)

The Tathāgatagarbha's Non-Discriminating Mind Stores and Outputs Karmic Seeds

As long as actions of greed, hatred, and delusion are committed—whether great or small—they are stored as karmic seeds in the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha makes no choices; He does not, because the physical body and five aggregates were created by Himself, refrain from recording the karma of killing when one kills. The tathāgatagarbha has no discriminating mind; He records and preserves everything equally. The tathāgatagarbha will not show favoritism toward the five aggregates He Himself gave birth to, storing only wholesome karma and not storing unwholesome karma; the tathāgatagarbha has no such mental activity—He is non-discriminating. As long as there is karmic action, whether great or small, wholesome, unwholesome, or neither wholesome nor unwholesome, He stores it all impartially.

For example, cooking is an action that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Once the skill of cooking is learned, it is stored as a seed, and in a future life, when conditions are encountered, one will quickly know how to cook. The same is true of driving skills and other skills—everything learned is stored by Him: the wholesome is stored, the unwholesome is stored, and the neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome is also stored. Some people are born with a certain talent because they have karmic seeds and were already proficient in it in a past life; some people can never learn something no matter how they try because they did not store those karmic seeds in past lives. That is why everyone's special talents differ. Some children are born understanding music and able to arrange musical scores; some are born knowing how to dance. Even some dogs can dance very well—all their past-life abilities are stored in the tathāgatagarbha. This is called habituation, habit, karma, and seeds. Some people liked to curse at others in their past lives, so in this life they are born knowing how to curse without being taught, and cannot be restrained no matter what—this is the manifestation of karmic seeds; such is the power of habit.

All actions of greed and hatred belong to the actions of delusion. Not knowing what is good or bad, and not recognizing what is wholesome or unwholesome, true or false, is also delusion; and delusion carries the karmic retribution of delusion. How does one counteract delusion? By using the principles of the Buddha's teachings to break through ignorance and delusion.

When the manas engages with the six sense objects of form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas, the mind consciousness will manifest three kinds of mental activity: craving and delight, hatred and aversion, and delusion. When the six faculties confront the six sense objects, three kinds of feeling will arise: joy and pleasure, aversion, and neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). All these feelings are arising and ceasing, false and illusory, and should not be grasped at.